Understood
by Smiju
Summary: “The God of Death wouldn’t waste his life helping out someone he didn’t care about, you got that, Buddy?” A friendship fic, NOT YAOI. Character death. Complete.
1. Together Again

_Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own either the pieces of inspiration, or the characters from Gundam Wing, this is just fan-made fun… if you can call staying up 'till 4 am trying to get the damn fic typed fun… which sadly I kinda do, lol… _

_Anyway, this is just a quick story inspired by a pic of Heero and Duo by spodmaster-spiff on Deviantart. (You should definitely check out the picture, but I warn you it will serve as a spoiler.) I also listened to Mark Hildreth's "Little Life" about 30 times while writing this… lol, Heero Yuy singing… it would be really wrong, if he weren't so damned good at it... _

_Oh, and last but not least…_

_This fic is dedicated to my Heero… Because without her, not only would I have missed out on a crap-ton of good Anime, I'd still be holed up in my apartment doing nothing with my time... Seriously man, where would I be if I hadn't been through "Heero and Duo's Excellent Adventure," Lol. And really, the characters here are based just as much off of you and me as off the original Heero and Duo, so thanks for the inspiration ;) Love ya! *Hug-tackles*_

_Ok, now that the mushy stuff's over, dry your tears and read the fic… although you might need these *hands out tissues* ;)_

_******_

After almost ten years of peace and quiet, some old friends came forward to ask a favor of the retired Gundam pilots. They could hardly refuse. As Duo had said while persuading Quatre to join the fun, "Life's too damn boring without Gundams anyway." This little mission was just infiltrating and destroying an underground weapons facility, but it was still more comfortable for most of them than the humdrum lives they'd been living since they'd given up on mobile suit battles.

The others had all had their parts to play, gathering information and weapons (which were becoming harder and harder to find). Not surprisingly Heero and Duo were the ones chosen to finish the job. They sat around a table at Quatre's rented hotel suite and planned the whole thing from start to finish in two days. There was a sort of nostalgia in the whole thing. Even though they'd never really planned their missions all together like this, this sense of camaraderie had been a part of their lives since they'd discovered each others existence. Not that Heero would ever admit this feeling to the others. As soon as he'd been contacted about this idea he had started reverting to his old soldier ways. But the past few years of peace had mellowed him out quite a bit.

"So you two will go in at 01:00," Trowa was reiterating one final time. "Just plant the charges and get out."

"We sure we trust our Heero not to blow himself up?" Duo joked with a chuckle.

"It's alright, if I'm going in with you the damn things probably won't even explode."

There was silence for a few seconds before Quatre and Trowa burst in to laughter. Duo tried to keep a straight face as he pointed an accusing finger. "That's not nice Heero… and when the fuck did you get a sense of humor?" He then proceeded to crack up along with the others, walking over to pat his friend on the back. "I'll forgive you this one, but you watch it, Yuy…Ya jerk" he shoved the other man, walking past him with an entertained smirk and disappearing in to one of the bedrooms.

The others headed off to bed soon after, and Heero was left alone. In truth, he was afraid to go to bed. He'd gotten too used to sleeping like a normal human being, and now he was worried he wouldn't be able to wake up on time. So he sat there looking over the plans and trying not to worry. He never used to worry. He'd never had anything to care about. But what did he care about now? Relena wasn't here, nor was she involved in any way, so that wasn't the problem. Was he worried about himself? Maybe he cared a little more than he used to, but not enough to make him worry like this. That left the other pilots. Should he call them his friends? Even if they weren't the text book definition of friends, they were the closest thing he had.

But, as much as he found himself caring about them, it didn't cloud his judgment. They had all been out of this kind of work for a long time. There was no doubt in his mind that the rest of them were as rusty as he was. There was no telling when one of them would make a major mistake, one that they would all pay for.

He must have fallen asleep while thinking about this, because the next thing he knew Duo was coming out of the bedroom half dressed to rustle up some coffee. Only after a good long chug of the stuff did he notice Heero looking a little off.

"You alright, Buddy?"

In response Heero began shuffling the papers in to a pile at the center of the table. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Duo yawn, stretch and head back toward the bedroom. Heero considered just sitting around and waiting, but then his stomach growled. He supposed a breakfast couldn't hurt. A quick scouting of the kitchen produced only some fruit, half a loaf of French bread and some of those ridiculous individually wrapped pats of butter. All leftovers from last night's room service, but better than nothing. He ate and waited for half an hour until Duo finally reemerged.

"Boy, it's hotter than hell in this place, huh?" He said as he pulled on a tank top.

Again Heero said nothing, but threw one of the backpacks full of explosives over his shoulders.

"I guess you haven't changed so much after all… I still can't get you to talk." The much more friendly man stuffed his feet into a pair of combat boots and yanked the laces tight. "What happened to that jokester from last night? He sure didn't last very long."

Heero, having had his own boots on all night long, sat silently watching his talkative comrade get ready. He never could understand how Duo could be so damn cheerful when so much was at stake.

Finally snatching up his backpack, Duo continued to talk. "Seems like we were just doing this kind of stuff yesterday..." He opened the door, knowing Heero would be right behind him as he stepped out. "Hard to believe it's been ten years already, huh?"

"Hey, Duo…"

The bubbly one stopped and sighed. "I know, I know, 'Shut up, Duo'… What the…" As he turned to face Heero, the quiet soldier tossed his comrade an apple and then walked past him out the door. Looking back and forth between the apple and Heero, Duo gave a surprised chuckle and whispered "Well I'll be damned."

"Hurry up," came the much more familiar call from the end of the hallway.

"Ah, see, now that's more like my buddy, Yuy. Hold your horses, I'm coming." He bit in to the apple and then jogged to meet up with his partner in crime.


	2. Not a Chance

It was ridiculously easy for the two men to sneak in to the facility. Since the owners thought it was still a secret they hadn't bothered with hiring any human security. And their mechanical security was weak, thanks in part to 10 years of peacetime reducing the need for innovative technology in such areas.

Once they were in, they went separate directions. The plan was to plant their bombs from one end of the building to the other, and then meet up back outside where the others should be waiting with an escape vehicle. If all went well they'd be nearly back to the hotel by the time the building blew.

"All charges planted in the East wing," Heero radioed to his comrade.

"Two more to go on my end, then I'm outta here. See ya on the outside, Buddy."

"Roger that." Slowly and quietly Heero made his way back in to the main hall that they had entered through, admiring the rather brilliant design of the building as he did.

He made it back to the hatch they'd busted in through without a problem but instead of heading out, for some reason he found himself waiting. Any second now Duo would radio him that he was on his way. Then they'd be off, and back to their boring lives once again.

The radio crackled for a moment and there was a blip of voice, but then silence. Really he knew better than to respond in a situation like this. It was best to keep the radio silent except when safety was certain. Still, Duo's extended silence was beginning to worry him. He pulled the radio from his pocket and prepared to press the button when a familiar and entirely unwelcome sound echoed from the Western hall. In an uncharacteristic jolt of emotion, Heero Yuy's heart skipped a beat.

"Duo?"

He could faintly hear footsteps running his direction from the hall. But then the radio crackled to life. "Guards… Headed your way…Get the hell out, fast!"

There was pain in the man's voice, which only confirmed Heero's fear. "How bad are you hurt?"

"It's just my arm, I'll be fine. Are you gone yet?"

Just then a stranger with a gun burst around the corner. Heero pulled out his own weapon and downed the guy with a shot to the head before he had even been noticed. Still, even as the stranger fell to the ground, the ex-pilot was glancing down at his watch. Only 8 minutes until detonation. He put the radio to his mouth once more. "Where are you?"

"I'm still trying to find a way out… there's more guys, I can hear 'em, but I can't see 'em."

"Stay put."

"What?! Heero, don't…"

But he had already turned his radio off and begun sneaking down the hall toward his comrade. Very soon he too heard the sound of unfamiliar voices. Three or four of them just up ahead. Ducking in to a doorway, Heero waited. A quick glance at his wrist revealed only 6 minutes to go. He would have liked to wait for the others to come to him, but he had no time. He had to find Duo and get out.

Peeking out he watched the three guards come in to view, and watched one of them point at the floor. They were following something which lead them to a locked door. They pounded on it and yelled to the man inside.

"We know you're in there, and we know you're hurt. Come out quietly and we won't have to hurt you any more."

Now Heero knew what they had followed. It was a blood trail… Duo's blood trail. At the sudden realization of how much danger his friend was in, he flung himself into the middle of the hallway and began firing away at the guards. He took two out before the other two could duck in to corners. While they were still hidden away he charged forward and tucked himself in against the door with the blood stains. "Open the door," he commanded almost as calmly as his old self would have. The door opened and he found himself being pulled inside.

"Christ, Yuy, what the hell's the matter with you! You were supposed to get out of here, but no, you run right back in to the ambush…"

"How's your arm?"

"It hurt's like hell, thanks for asking. Now how do you propose we get out of here, since, you know, those bombs of ours are gonna wake up any second now."

"Three minutes, 32 seconds," Heero corrected with another glance at his wrist.

"Oh, well, excuse me…"

"Can you still shoot."

"Yeah, sure, they missed my good arm."

Heero nodded, and slammed his fist into the control panel that opened the door. Crouching, he pulled a gun from one of the downed guards, undid the safety, and handed it to Duo. "Our only chance is to run for it."

"Hey, that kind of plan hasn't failed us yet, right?" He tried to sound cheerful despite his obvious pain.

Again Heero nodded, and then shouldered up to the door. "I'll cover you."

Duo accepted the plan, knowing there was no time to argue about who went first now. He readied his gun and bolted in to the hallway. Immediately the hidden guards started firing, but Heero and Duo both countered their shots. When one of the guards fell, Heero too jumped up and began to make his escape. By the time they made it to the lobby they were pretty sure the last guard wasn't following them any more.

Heero dropped his gun and rummaged through his backpack for something to help them break out. There was no way Duo could make it out of their original hatch with only one arm. Finally he was about to grab a grenade, but before he could pull it out he saw Duo flinch, heard him shout, "Look out!" and felt himself behind shoved aside as one more gunshot sounded. In retaliation Heero threw the grenade in the direction of the shot and stayed low until the explosion was over. As his hearing returned to normal the first sound he recognized was a cough. Scrambling to his knees he leaned over Duo, who lay on his side wheezing and hacking. Grasping his arm, Heero made his friend lay back, only to finally notice the new wound in the left side of his chest. Involuntarily he uttered a defiant "No," as he pressed a hand against the pulsing hole.

Despite his situation Duo managed to smirk. "Looks like the God of Death isn't gonna make it outta this one, Buddy."

Heero didn't realize it, but he was shaking his head. Still determined to get his friend out, he tried to get him to his feet. But Duo fought him with all the strength he had left, pushing his friend away.

"I'm serious, Man, forget me and save yourself."

Save himself? Leave Duo there? How could he? If the Gundam pilots were his friends, then Duo Maxwell was by far his best friend. They had never let each other down in all the time they'd known each other. How many times had Duo saved his ass? And how many times had he saved Duo? Now he was being asked to go against that unspoken code of theirs. "Not a chance."

Very suddenly Heero rose to his feet and sprinted across the room. Duo tried to ask what he was doing, but only managed to choke on blood. But his buddy was back soon, pressing his hand to the bullet wound again.

"What…?" It was all he managed to choke out, but Heero understood.

"I disabled the charges in this room. We'll be alright in here, and the other charges will blow us a way out of here." He glanced at his watch, then added, "Just hold on another minute or two, alright?"

Duo laughed as best he could and muttered something that sounded like "You got it, Buddy."

But Heero could see his friend was fading fast. He lifted his friend's back up off the floor, in part because he hoped the angle would ease his breathing. But it also served to make him feel closer… safer.

He began to feel the explosions at the far ends of the building, and held tight to his friend. Although he knew he couldn't be heard over the noise, he found himself saying "We're almost there." And it was over as quickly as it began. But Duo was still fading. Giving him a little shake, Heero nearly shouted in order to keep his friend conscious, "Duo… Duo!"

The injured man cringed, but finally managed to look up at his buddy. And for the first time ever he saw tears in the soldier's eyes. He tried to say "Heero," but it came out more as grunts, and he wheezed violently afterward. But his hand managed to creep up to the one holding his wound, and he gave it a squeeze.

Heero's shoulders suddenly slumped, and he hung his head. "I'm sorry, Duo." He felt one more squeeze to his hand, and a chest heave of a laugh. He looked up just in time to see one last smirk cross his friend's lips before his face relaxed completely. Heero held tight to his friend for a few moments more. His tears finally began descending his cheeks as he found himself thinking that this couldn't possibly be real. The body in his arms couldn't possibly be Duo Maxwell, The God of Death, his favorite comrade and best friend. It wasn't possible that there would never be another smart-mouthed comment or mischievous grin to look forward to. For a few more moments Heero Yuy found himself hoping that his dearest friend would wake up to laugh at his pointless tears.

And then Duo's still active radio crackled. Quatre's voice begged for confirmation of life. The old Heero Yuy sprang back into action for a brief minute, and he gathered up his backpack, sliding it up on to his back. But then he knelt back down. He reached out to close Duo's violet eyes forever, a task that tore at his heart. And then, as gently as he could, he scooped up his lifeless friend in his arms. As he trudged toward the exploded hallway in search of an exit, he found himself talking.

"How could you think that I would ever leave without you? How could I abandon you… the one who always came for me. How could I leave behind the best friend I never asked for?"

By now he was cresting a pile of rubble and stepping out into the field. On the other side of this grassy expanse were their three other friends, waiting to see if they were alive. What would they say when they saw Duo? Heero tried to quell all emotions he could feel, in order to be prepared for anything. But no matter what he did on the inside, he could not stop the tears streaming from his eyes.


	3. Understood

As Wufei started the truck Quatre tried calling out on the radio one last time, and Trowa stood watch, leaning over the top of the vehicle with a pair of binoculars. When he finally spotted movement, he mentioned it joyfully to his companions. But then he realized there was only one person, and they were moving rather slowly. As it moved closer he began to notice the burden in the walker's arms. By the time he realized what the object was he simply couldn't believe it. He stared off in that direction without the binoculars for a moment before dropping the things altogether and jumping out of the truck.

"Trowa, what's wrong?"

He ignored the question until he had walked to the edge of the field. But even then he could not bring himself to actually produce the answer. "It's… Duo's…"

Both Quatre and Wufei stepped out of the truck to see better what their friend was talking about. By that time Heero was less than a hundred yards away. The sight of him, with Duo's body in his arms, made all of the others freeze. They could not approach him, they could not speak to him. Silently he walked past them all, only stopping when he reached the back of the truck. Realizing what needed to be done, Trowa hurried forward to lower the tailgate. He and Wufei climbed inside to hoist the body up. Heero had hesitated in releasing his hold on Duo, and now chose to climb in to the back with him.

"Pull the tarp in to place, we need to move out." His command was heeded. He and Duo were supposed to hide in the back, under the tarp, until all was clear. There were only three seats in the cab after all, and no one volunteered to trade their seat for the one next to the corpse of their friend.

Before the tarp was tied down, he watched a sobbing Quatre climb back in to the cab. Afterwards, he heard the other two climb in and close the doors. The engine started and they were finally off. They were almost an hour later than they'd planned, and down one man. Heero stared up at the tarp, feeling the tears still sliding down his face. The entire 12 years of his friendship with Duo and the other pilots was playing back in his head. Of all the pilots, Du was the one he had known the longest, and the one he had abused the most. Duo had never been anything but kind to him, always trying to make him into an ally, if not a friend. Heero realized that every action he had taken, especially in those first two years, had tested Duo's friendship to the extreme. And yet Duo was faithful to the supposedly emotionless soldier right to the very end, ultimately sacrificing his life for the man.

At some point during his thinking, Heero's face had turned toward his fallen friend. He turned it back to the tarp above them, but what he was really aiming for was Space… their home… the heavens. Heaven was supposed to be where the soul went after death, if you believed in such things. Duo had, to a degree. Was he there now, or on his way? Or was the corpse beside him really the only thing left? For once Heero hoped his foolish friend's beliefs were real, if only because he still had more to say to the man. There were probably a number of things left unsaid between the two of them, but one in particular plagued Heero. With eyes closed he willed his words to reach whatever still existed of Duo Maxwell.

"Forgive me, My Friend… Please forgive me."

And yet, at the same time he spoke the words, an image of Duo popped in to his head and began ranting at him with what would most likely have been the response to his plea.

"Forgive you for what, being yourself? I knew what I was getting in to right from the start. You think I woulda stuck around this long if I expected something different from you? The God of Death wouldn't waste his life helping out someone he didn't care about, you got that, Buddy?"

Oddly enough Heero felt himself smile a little, and in his old, monotone soldier voice he uttered a typical one-word response.

"Understood."


End file.
